Slog
News & ArtsMonday, August 30, 2010
Arts Today in Sentences You'll Be Happy to Read
Posted by David Schmader on Mon, Aug 30, 2010 at 10:44 AM
The sentence comes from The Sun:
Jennifer Saunders is working on her first project since beating cancer—the story for the Spice Girls musical.
The only thing that could make me care about a Spice Girls musical is if it has a book by Jennifer Saunders, who is uniquely gifted at making fun of pop stars. For proof, see the video below, which is lightly NSFW in a nude-body-stocking way, and is hilarious, particularly the parts where her facial expression doesn't change to match the yelling. (And it would be ten times funnier if there were no goddamn laugh track.)
3
What the hell is people's problem with laugh tracks, anyway? I don't get it.
And @2, if you think French & Saunders are unpopular, you're woefully out of touch with human reality.
And @2, if you think French & Saunders are unpopular, you're woefully out of touch with human reality.
4
Agree with @3 - French & Saunders (in my opinion) are great. Not to mention Saunders being half of the comedic genius, with Joanna Lumley, in Ab Fab. That show as ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS.
5
3: I didn't say they were unpopular, I said they were untalented.
To clarify, when people owe their own popularity and notoriety to making fun of ~pop stars~, it is really aggravating when others hold them on high like David is here. Guess what, they're trying to be popular too, only, they have to start with somebody else's popularised idea or song and go from there
(think Weird Al.)
So congratulations, you just became more popular by mocking a popular artist. But yeah, you're SO SUPERIOR TO THEM.
vom.
To clarify, when people owe their own popularity and notoriety to making fun of ~pop stars~, it is really aggravating when others hold them on high like David is here. Guess what, they're trying to be popular too, only, they have to start with somebody else's popularised idea or song and go from there
(think Weird Al.)
So congratulations, you just became more popular by mocking a popular artist. But yeah, you're SO SUPERIOR TO THEM.
vom.
6
3: and to be honest, no, I am not familiar with their body of work. I was just going off of this post. So maybe I'm way off base and if that is the case, my bad.
9
Keshmeshi:
A) I acknowledged I may be wrong, that is not taking pride in ignorance.
B) I'm an American born in the 80's, when this show came out.
Like I said, MY BAD.
A) I acknowledged I may be wrong, that is not taking pride in ignorance.
B) I'm an American born in the 80's, when this show came out.
Like I said, MY BAD.
10
StillNon, Jennifer Saunders has been considered one of Britain's greatest comedic talents for the better part of 20 years. She made this video well into that career and well past the point where she had achieved the kind of success most performing artists can only dream of. And even if you like Morissette's original song and video, it is ripe for parody. The fact that it's ripe for parody doesn't mean it's bad as most great works of art have been parodied.
11
@6 - Yeah, they do other stuff, too. Their popularity is based largely on mocking alcoholics.
@3 - I resent being instructed when something is funny. If it's funny, it should be able to stand on its own. If it's not funny, no amount of other people laughing makes it any better. Why not just flash an applause sign on the screen when I'm supposed to like something? How about an hour-long program that's nothing but a sustained laugh track and captions like "This is funny. You enjoy this"? Nobody watches a show because they get the sense the studio audience really enjoyed the taping. At best, a laugh track is just superfluous noise.
@3 - I resent being instructed when something is funny. If it's funny, it should be able to stand on its own. If it's not funny, no amount of other people laughing makes it any better. Why not just flash an applause sign on the screen when I'm supposed to like something? How about an hour-long program that's nothing but a sustained laugh track and captions like "This is funny. You enjoy this"? Nobody watches a show because they get the sense the studio audience really enjoyed the taping. At best, a laugh track is just superfluous noise.
12
@9,
And yet you ran your mouth off anyway. Why don't you do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up for once?
@11,
I greatly appreciate laugh tracks when the show is utterly unfunny. It's almost like performance art.
And yet you ran your mouth off anyway. Why don't you do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up for once?
@11,
I greatly appreciate laugh tracks when the show is utterly unfunny. It's almost like performance art.
13
11: re: laugh tracks
"At best, a laugh track is just superfluous noise. "
And at worst, and more accurately, it's a psychological shortcut to enhanced comedic response.
Ever notice how you laugh out loud when you watch a funny show with your friends but are generally silent when watching alone? Laugh tracks not only exist to point out what was supposed to be funny, they also augment the subtle shared-experience psyche cues we all have.
"At best, a laugh track is just superfluous noise. "
And at worst, and more accurately, it's a psychological shortcut to enhanced comedic response.
Ever notice how you laugh out loud when you watch a funny show with your friends but are generally silent when watching alone? Laugh tracks not only exist to point out what was supposed to be funny, they also augment the subtle shared-experience psyche cues we all have.
17
Thank you, Will, for always making me look good by always being even more drunk and making even less sense than I do.
19
@17 perhaps, if you actually followed BritCom, you'd understand that certain people played a role as an Anglican Minister ... and the Pharisee reference might make a bit more sense.
Or pounds and pence. One of the two.
Or pounds and pence. One of the two.
20
Saunders is one of the most overrated "comedians" ever to come out of the British Isles, in my opinion (and of course everyone's entitled to disagree). But goddamn, she looks better than ever in that picture! I'm guessing some photoshop or retouching was involved? Anyway, Ade Edmondson's a lucky man....I guess.
21
Between this news and the fact that Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters is currently working on the music for a musical version of Tales of the City, I might need a fainting couch.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Portland Voters Are Stoopid by Goldy
-
An I-5 Bridge Over the Skagit River Has Collapsed by Paul Constant
-
Why They Break Windows by Unpaid Intern
-
Usually When I'm Sent a Photoshopped Image of a Gun Pointed At Me... by Dan Savage
-
Did You Steal Our Unpaid Intern's Camera? by Goldy
-
Tornado Truthers by Dan Savage
-
The Only Thing More Tragic than a Bridge Collapse Would Be a 10 Cent a Gallon Increase in the Gas Tax by Goldy
-
Star Trek Releases Deleted Scene of Benedict Cumberbatch Showering to Counter Claims of Sexism by Cienna Madrid
-
Boy Scouts Lift Ban on Gay Members by Paul Constant
-
SL Letter of the Day: Not A Prude... And Not Just Not That... by Dan Savage
Stranger Personals
The Stranger
RSSSeattle Art & Performance Quarterly
A complete guide to Seattle's current art, film, dance, and theater season.
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (21) RSS